From Margins to Mainstream will be accompanied by a rich and varied Arts and Cultural Program which captures the best of our local talent and demonstrates a number of arts projects which strive not only to create inspiring art but also to promote the mental health and wellbeing of the artists involved.
The main stage in the Mental Health Marketplace will be home to such varied acts as the Anti Racism Action Band (A.R.A.B), Deaf Can Dance and Polyglot Puppet Theatre. Entertainment also includes roving performers, installations and displays throughout the conference venue.
The conference program will feature moving and innovative acts such as Australia’s famous Choir of Hard Knocks, the BiPolar Bears, Indigenous Hip Hop Projects and a special performance by Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-operative at the opening night function.
The Arts and Culture program has been generously supported by Arts Victoria. A.R.A.B and Indigenous Hip Hop Projects perform courtesy of beyondblue, Australia’s national depression initiative. Many of the acts have been supported by VicHealth through their social participation funding schemes.
A.R.A.B
www.arab-vass.com
The Anti Racism Action Band is a youth performing arts project involving young people from 30 different cultures in the north and north western suburbs of Melbourne. The project provides participants with the opportunity to develop creative skills and talent while at the same time addressing the problems they face as young people.
By teaching and performing rap, beat box, Derbakki (Arabic drumming), spoken word, belly dance, hip hop, video and comic monologue, young people who would otherwise have limited outlets for artistic self expression are able to increase their skills, confidence and self-esteem.
These performances not only enhance the mental health and wellbeing of the young people involved but also inform audiences of the positive benefits of working together, and the damaging mental health impacts of discrimination.
A.R.A.B’s performance at the conference is generously supported by beyondblue, Australia’s national depression initiative.
BiPolar Bears
www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/bipolarbears.html
The BiPolar Bears are well known throughout Victoria, Australia, for their high energy performances and high profile advocacy of mental health issues. The band is part of the City of Port Phillip’s Access Arts program, designed to create arts participation opportunities for people living with a mental illness.
The band has been playing for 15 years, making it one of Melbourne’s most stable rock groups. They’ve played at Federation Square, the Sydney Opera House, Brisbane’s Powerhouse, Rockhampton, with the Choir of Hard Knocks on ABC radio, across country Victoria, St Kilda Festival, regularly at Club Wild’s discrimination-free dance party events, endless mental health events and even a performance for inmates of the psychiatric ward at Port Phillip prison.
The Black Arm Band’s mission is to perform, promote and celebrate contemporary Australian Aboriginal music as a symbol of resilience and hope in the spirit and action of reconciliation. The Black Arm Band features the most significant figures of contemporary Australian Indigenous music including Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Stephen Pigram, Kutcha Edwards, Joe Geia, Mark Atkins, Ursula Yovich, Bart Willoughby and others.
These artists came together to present murundak, a concert and film event premiered at the Melbourne International Arts Festival 2006, which won the Helpmann Award for Best Contemporary Music Concert and touring to all the major capital city festivals in 2007/2008. In October 2008 the artists of the Black Arm Band will collaborate with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to present Hidden Republic, a major new musical work for the Melbourne International Arts Festival 2008 that will celebrate the undiminished spirit in the music and songs of Aboriginal Australia. Supported by VicHealth, The Black Arm Band will deliver a program of community participation workshops and social inclusion programs to run alongside the mainstage presentation of the concert, reflecting The Black Arm Band’s belief that music is a powerful vehicle for community change and social inclusion.
The Black Arm Band is a project of the City of Melbourne ARTS HOUSE.
Choir of Hard Knocks
www.choirofhardknocks.com.au
The Choir of Hard Knocks is a group of people experiencing disadvantage and homelessness. They came together in 2006 under the leadership of Founding Music Director Jonathon Welch, a celebrated professional singer, TV presenter, conductor and teacher in his own right, and are supported by RecLink.
Prior to Christmas 2006, the Choir released their first CD. Following the ABC TV series following the Choir's formation and humble beginnings, the Choir has gone from strength to strength and their accolades include an ARIA Award and two platinum albums for their CDs, a Logie for the ABC TV series, sell-out concerts, national TV appearances, and the release of a new book.
Community Music Victoria
cmv.customer.netspace.net.au
‘Truly there would be reason to go mad were it not for music’. Tchaikovsky
In a world gone mad, our songs may be all that can save us. Humanity has always recognised deep connections between music-making and health. Recent scientific research is confirming these connections.
But all the theory in the world is no substitute for direct experience. So, on Friday morning of the conference Community Music Victoria is offering you the chance to sing for your life! CMV’s facilitator of vocal outpouring guarantees you 20 minutes of unadulterated fun. You will not feel foolish, you will not feel threatened, you will feel liberated, you will feel energised and you will be filled with joy. This we promise! There’s no better way to start off a day of conferencing.
Deaf Can Dance
Sneak preview performance
Deaf Arts Network's project at Arts Access Victoria, "Deaf Can Dance", features Deaf dancers doing hip hop, funk, breakin', krumpin' and freestyle poppin'. The bass is turned up loud so they can move to the vibrations from the music. Rehearsals included a workshop conducted by artists from So You Think You Can Dance Australia (Demi Sorono, Nikki Ashby and Carlos Sorono).
The group is working towards a performance at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in October, and is funded by the VicHealth and City of Melbourne.
Heidi Everett
Heidi is a passionate self-taught musician who also experiences mental sk’illness. After playing in cafés, busking and writing songs for several years, she found herself being booked to play at all sorts of humanitarian events including mental health week, international women’s day and the international day of disability.
She has won many song writing awards and has performed at a range of different events celebrating the life-force of humanity. Her songs easily charm, taking you with her through the warmly crafted verses and instantly memorable melodies, fluidly describing the states of life we all seem to share. Heidi gives a complete performance, the audience becoming part of the songs as she talks honestly about their creation.
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects (IHHP) is a unique team of talented artists skilled in all elements of hip hop and performing arts, who have been working extensively in Aboriginal communities around Australia for the past three years.
IHHP celebrates the fusion of traditional indigenous culture and hip hop, facilitating workshops that provide performance skills, leading up to events with performance, community strengthening and community mental health outcomes. IHHP promotes self expression through movement, music and art, boosting morale and confidence and promoting positive social behaviors in remote communities.
IHHP provides opportunities, role models, inspirations and collaborations for youth in remote areas.
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects’ performance at the conference is generously supported by beyondblue, Australia’s national depression initiative.
Ilbijerri Theatre
www.ilbijerri.org.au
Ilbijerri is one of Australia’s leading theatre companies creating innovative contemporary works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists that challenges and connects with our audiences. Ilbijerri believes in the power of Indigenous voices. Our creative processes support the empowerment of Indigenous artists and communities to tell our stories, from our perspective.
Jacky Jacky: In the box
“A contemporary, subversive and thought provoking installation commenting on the objectification of Aboriginality”.
The Kankelay Sierra Leonean Women’s Ensembe is a group of women who learn their songs from one another. They share repertoire and friendship and the experience of recent arrival in Australia from the strife of their homeland.
Their songs are traditional and absolutely contemporary. Kankelay women sing and dance about their African and their Australian experiences.
The Kankelay project is supported by VicHealth, The Donkey Wheel Foundation, Foundation House and The Boite.
The Megaphone Project
www.themegaphoneproject.com
The Megaphone Project is a multi-layered installed and performed work that uses strong visual sculptural symbols to facilitate interaction between listening and sound creation. Twenty-four red horns (megaphones) of varying sizes, (some on stands), house a wirelessly networked custom designed sound matrix, and create a striking field within any existing landscape.
The megaphones create a field for performance, with attendant performers inviting physical interaction from the public, as well as the possibility for choreographic work. Performers give "performative permission" to create a phenomenon that creates an environment of play and enjoyment.
Mimi Quartet
www.mimiquartet.com
The members of the Mimi Quartet met during their studies at the Victorian College of the Arts and an electrifying musical bond was established. Fronted by the sultry Mimi Zaetta (String Theory), the Mimi Quartet can move between the coolest ballads, toe tapping jazz standards and up-beat pop classics. The heart of the Mimi Quartet is the rhythm section: Tom Gannon, Chris Schurmann, and Dan Marsh (The Red Eyes), who provide contagious grooves and infectious rhythms.
NICA
www.nica.com.au
The National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) provides professional training through a three-year Bachelor of Circus Arts, preparing students from across Australia and around the world for exciting careers in all facets of the circus industry. Based at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, NICA is the only training institution of its kind in Australia.
Acts featured at the conference will include Adelina Pinelli, a hula hoop artist, The Happy Cooks, a comedic circus act and Kitty Kat, a contortionist.
Polyglot Puppet Theatre
www.polyglotpuppets.com.au
Polyglot Puppet Theatre is one of Australia’s leading children’s performance companies; creating original theatrical adventures for kids and families and placing children’s imaginations at the centre of a collaborative arts practice.
Featured at the conference are Polyglot’s Wild Things. They are gentle, beautiful puppets which roam the streets searching for their homelands and have many stories to tell on the way. Meet Joyce the emu, Juanita the butterfly, and Pirramurra the goanna. Wild Things is a gentle performance piece bringing a smile to every face, from the young to the very old.
Red Cabbage
Red Cabbage is a collective of artists who create site-specific performance, installation, photography and film. Red Cabbage has been described as practice thinkers who utilise a detailed conceptual framework to devise projects through primarily visual language. Red Cabbage presents one major performance installation a year, and aim to provide an enchanting yet unsettling perspective on modern concerns.
Red Cabbage is committed to:
- Challenging expectations on what constitutes ‘theatre’ by producing primarily visual performance in alternative environments.
- Encouraging meaningful exchanges of ideas between artists and audiences by constructing performance which requires active participation on all levels from audience members.
- Devising and producing work collectively.
Visionary Images
Visual culture + social change
www.visionaryimages.org
Visionary Images utilises contemporary communication media, art, design and technology as tools for artistic intervention, exchange, accessibility and cultural determination with disadvantaged or disengaged youth.
Through active partnership development with a range of government, community, arts, industry and business partners, VI provides its young members with the resources, support and access to professional expertise, innovative technology and exhibition opportunities that are otherwise out of their reach.
Visionary Images Billboard Project
The Billboard Project, undertaken in 1998-99, was one of Visionary Images’ early ventures and explored issues of importance to the young members. The project’s conceptual development considered issues of homelessness, care, concern, violence and drug and alcohol abuse. This project will be displayed in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Marketplace during the conference.
Westside Circus
www.westsidecircus.org.au
The Westside Circus is a not-for profit community arts organisation based in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Westside’s social circus philosophy uses the medium of circus to increase the confidence, positive risk-taking, teamwork and self esteem of its participants. The circus targets 3-25 year olds, particularly newly arrived refugees, at risk and disadvantaged groups and young people from a non-English speaking background.
During the conference Westside Circus will be presenting an excerpt of their performance Spilt Milk which has been supported by beyond blue, the national depression initiative and is currently touring schools with Regional Arts Victoria Art2GO Program.
Spilt Milk is an irreverent and quirky investigation of the hazards of expressing and denying our feelings. It’s a dynamic work of physical theatre and clowning which explores emotional wellbeing and human relationships in all their messiness.
